Middle Sunday Diary: Great players, great matches and a great atmosphere

LONDON—History was made at Wimbledon this year in the very first week. For just the fourth time ever, play was scheduled for Middle Sunday, a day meant for rest and relaxation. The last time balls were struck on this sacred and very respected day was back in 2004.

To put the day in perspective, consider this: In the event’s 139-year history, Middle Sunday play has only happened in 1991, 1997 and 2004. It’s never been done since the roof covered Centre Court in 2009.

11:22 a.m., All England Club grounds

The most noticeable difference walking into the grounds was the lack of huge crowds, which was a refreshing change.  With just 22,000 tickets sold to the public (and others reserved for debenture ticket holders and members), and with less high-profile matches on the outer courts, congestion wasn’t an issue.

The atmosphere felt more relaxed than ever, without as many queues to bring anxiety up. Centre Court was a free for all for the first time all tournament. Those lucky enough to score Centre Court tickets from Ticketmaster simply looked to sit anywhere there was an available seat, Royal Box excluded, of course.

12:53 p.m., Centre Court

The first match to open Middle Sunday was No. 27 seed CoCo Vandeweghe against Roberta Vinci, the sixth seed.

"It was really actually quite exciting," Vandeweghe said  “When I walked out, the roar of the crowd was, like, crazy. It was super loud.  It made me giggle a little bit because it was just surprising.

"I would equate this more similar to the quarterfinal I had last year, of the excitement of the crowd, their excitement for tennis to be played."

The fans were definitely excited for an extra day of top-quality tennis. Vandeweghe, with her huge serves and quick ground-stroke play, was too much for the crafty Italian on grass. A 6-3, 6-4 win saw the American comfortably move into the fourth round.

“She's a great player, especially on this surface,” Vinci said. “She has a good serve. She hit every single shot. Today she [played] a good game. She [played] better than me, especially with the serve.”

Vandeweghe has been here before. The 24-year-old reached the quarterfinals last year, falling to Maria Sharapova. Can she go farther this year, perhaps all the way?

“If she [plays] like this, why not?” Vinci said. “I don't know. She has a good chance in this surface.”

3:43 p.m., No. 1 Court

Returning to the court after a night's hiatus, Nick Kyrgios sealed his third-round win over Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4. Play resumed on Sunday with the match tied one set apiece, but the 21-year-old did well to come out strong.

"I thought the conditions helped me a little bit more today," Kyrgios said. "It was a little hotter.  It was good for me. I got a lot more out of my serve and from the baseline."

The Australian has been on court three straight days after playing a five-set match against Dustin Brown on a rainy Friday.

Next up for Kyrgios is a fourth-round encounter with local favorite and world No. 2 Andy Murray.

"I feel like I know what to do," Kyrgios said. "But it's hard to actually go out there and execute against such a player like him, obviously."

3:54 p.m., No. 2 Court

Taking to the court again after a rain-delayed day of play on Saturday, John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started off in their fourth set with Isner up two sets to one.

With the mid-afternoon sun shining, the set continued deep into the fifth. Isner, of course, has plenty of experience playing insanely long fifth sets at the All England Club. He holds the record for longest match after beating Nicolas Mahut in 2010 by the unimaginable score of 6–4, 3–6, 6–7 (7–9), 7–6 (7–3), 70–68.

The intimate court on Sunday boosted the electric atmosphere, which included chants of both names, with a lot more cheers in Tsonga's favor. Late in the fifth, a "Wilfried's on Fire" song parody broke out, based on the original Irish football chant.

"I was surprised today was exactly the same welcome I had yesterday on court, because yesterday was already very special," Tsonga said. "When I came on the court with John, all the people [were standing up] and clapping. It was nice."

At 16-15 with Tsonga serving, Isner won a long point after Tsonga made an error on a volley. The Frenchman launched a ball over the stands, earning a warning. Setting up to serve and save match point, he first apologized to the crowd. Then he hit a huge serve and a putaway forehand.

At 17-17, Tsonga began ripping forehands while an Isner missed forehand handed over the coveted break. Stepping up to serve it out, Tsonga began with two aces, eventually sealing it with a volley winner.

"I was waiting for it since a while," Tsonga said about the break. "Yeah, it was a good feeling, you know, to have this break in my pocket at this moment.  Then after that, I played pretty good on my serve, and I closed it finally."

5:05 p.m., Centre Court

Despite a spirited effort from the teenager, Tomas Berdych moved into the fourth round with a four-set win over Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

“Well, I think it was more special that it's Sunday and we [are] playing, actually,” Berdych said. “That was a little more special than I'm playing a young guy that I think we definitely [are] going to hear a lot about in the future.”

There’s been plenty of talk about Zverev’s future, and many believe that the world No. 28 could be a world No. 1 someday.

"I mean, of course it's nice to have attention and stuff like that,” Zverev said. “I'm far away from that. Second, there's been a million future No. 1s that never got to No. 1. There's other guys right now who want to become No. 1 after Novak [Djokovic]."

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Overall, Middle Sunday was a raging success. Zero raindrops fell, a miracle for this week, and everyone got a look at some great tennis, no matter what court or patch of grass they were on.

With a first-come, first-serve policy for the stadiums, everyone had a fighting chance at the best seat in the house. Though for some, nothing beats a picnic blanket on a serene, less-packed Murray Mound, and a bottle of champagne.